


Don't Bend

by Kunstpause



Series: Kinktober 2020 [15]
Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: Asphyxiation, Choking, Enemies to Lovers, F/M, Femdom, Gentleness, Kinktober 2020, Light Dom/sub, Pegging, Porn with Feelings, Shibari, Strap-Ons
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-23
Updated: 2020-10-23
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:49:07
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,090
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27162065
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kunstpause/pseuds/Kunstpause
Summary: Day 15 - Pegging | Asphyxiation | ShibariAlthea often wondered if by making the same bad choices over and over again, she might one day get used to them. But as it turned out, Zenos kept being both unpredictable and full of surprises.
Relationships: Zenos yae Galvus/Warrior of Light
Series: Kinktober 2020 [15]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1947166
Comments: 8
Kudos: 37





	Don't Bend

When she saw Zenos again, on the cusp of darkness as the sun disappeared behind him on the horizon, Althea was caught completely off-guard. The last time, she had been the one seeking him out, and she had been prepared. But as she met him now, on the remnants of a battlefield that had been quiet for the longest time, Althea’s throat went dry at the realization of her situation.

It took Zenos only one purposeful look, and she knew he had seen that she was unarmed, where he decidedly wasn’t. Not that a weapon would help her all that much, she knew. At their last meeting, the situation had been the other way around, and Althea had still found herself outmatched.

Before she could even think of an exit strategy, the air around her changed as Zenos moved with his usual, impressive speed. A second later, Althea nearly flinched as something flew towards her. She blinked in confusion as she saw a sword - one of his - sticking out of the ground right in front of her feet.

He stood still several malms away, and when she gave him a questioning look, he returned it with an expression that told her everything she needed to know. It was no fun if she was unable to fight back. With her heart beating faster, she reached for the hilt of the sword, pulling it out of the ground and swinging it around once to try it out.

“Ah,” came Zenos’ voice at that moment, breaking through the quiet of the onsetting night. “So you do know how to wield a sword.” He sounded undeniably pleased, and before she could think better of it, Althea scoffed.

“Oh please,” she huffed, as she got into an attack stance, “I’ve spent over ten years in your damn army. These eastern swords may look different, but they’ll cut just as well.” Despite her words, she had never before wielded a katana and certainly not one of this length. It didn’t feel that close to the shortswords she was used to, but Althea pushed the worry aside. It was a sword with a sharp blade and a pointy end. How big could the difference truly be? She regretted the thought almost immediately as Zenos attacked only a moment later and without another word. 

Their dance was more measured this time. Quick blows alternating with careful steps as they circled each other in a back and forth that forced Althea to re-evaluate her self-assurance.

The smile on his face was infuriating as ever and to her dismay, it only grew each time he parried one of her strikes with absolute ease.

“The swords do indeed cut just as well,” he said as he casually blocked her next attack. “You, on the other hand…”

Althea wasn’t sure if what she heard in his voice was amusement or disappointment. Worse yet - she was uncertain which one she hated more. With a deep growl, she twisted, feigning an attack only to whirl around at the last moment, but it was to no avail. He was completely prepared for that as well. 

Their weapons met, clashing loudly, and suddenly he was far too close again, and a strong hand clasped around her upper arm.

“You’re underestimating the length of your sword, leading your attack,” he said matter-of-factly as if they were casually conversing instead of fighting each other. “And then there’s the wrong footwork….” 

Althea let out a disbelieving snort. “Are you seriously complaining about my inadequate fighting technique?” For a second, she didn’t know what to make of it all.

“Hardly,” Zenos said plainly. “I am telling you what to improve.”

“Beg your pardon?” His words sounded like he meant them as an explanation, but Althea was thoroughly lost. 

With an exasperated sigh, he nodded at their still crossed swords. “How else are you going to get better?” Something in Zenos’ voice sounded surprisingly genuine as he narrowed his eyes at her. “Your power could be so much more. You have the potential and I would see it unlocked.”

Slowly, it dawned on Althea just what his motivation behind this might be. “So, what, instead of killing me, you'd rather teach me now?” she asked with a furrowed brow. “What do you want, a training partner?”

Zenos let out a dry laugh before he shook his head. “A challenge,” he said, his eyes still intensely focused on her. “And you, Warrior of Light, will give it to me, I will make sure of that.” Despite his almost casual tone, the words sounded like a threat. Suddenly, he nudged her arm, indicating her to step back. “Now, come at me again, but this time, put your weight more to the left and keep the sword still, lest you reveal your plan of attack prematurely.” And with that, he let go of her, taking a few steps back as well before raising his katana again. 

For a brief moment, Althea didn’t move as she tried to wrap her head around the fact that, instead of fighting for her life, she was apparently about to get a lesson in fighting with a katana instead. It didn’t take her more than the blink of an eye, though, before she pulled herself together and did as he asked. She was nothing if not opportunistic after all, and she had seen him fight. Had seen him effortlessly fell dozens of people while barely even moving himself. She would be a fool not to take the advice of someone who could fight like this.

With a determined look, she gripped the hilt tighter as she got in position. If he wanted a challenge so badly that he was willing to build it up himself, who was she to deny him? Not after she had already found her own challenge in him.

When Althea made her way back to her camp in the early morning hours, she was looking a lot worse for the wear. A brand-new weapon dangled from her hip, and as she made up a story about being surprised by a wild animal, no one even questioned her. Just as no one seemed to notice the guilt hanging around her. She managed to hide it well, nearly well enough to forget about it herself. Certainly enough for her to not shy away when it happened again. And again. 

Abandoned battlefields, far off, and empty training areas, wherever she was for a prolonged time, Zenos had an uncanny knack for finding her. And after the first few times, Thea gradually changed her own behavior as well. She paid more attention to plans of the resistance, keeping in mind where troops of the Imperial army were stationed, volunteering for more and more missions that brought her closer to where she suspected him to be. More often than not, her suspicions were right on point. And each time, they somehow ended up somewhere on their own, away from prying eyes, doing things that she should have no business enjoying as much as she did.

“Every time we fight, you last a little bit longer,” Zenos said with a hint of appreciation in his voice as he straightened, not looking even nearly as out of breath as she was.

Althea shook her head as she patted some dirt off her pants, before sheathing her sword. “You are very invested in making me stronger, are you that desperate to finally be beaten?”

In the blink of an eye, Zenos was suddenly close, a hand around her arm and one clasping her chin with just a little too much pressure to be entirely comfortable. This, too, had quickly become somewhat of a routine for them. He would find her, or she would seek him out, they would spar and fight almost to the point of exhaustion, and then they would tire each other out through decidedly other means. Ever since that first night on his balcony, every single of their encounters had ended this way. And no matter how bad she felt about it during the day, whenever he was in front of her, it didn’t matter one bit anymore.

“Maybe work up to a stalemate first before you get overly ambitious,” Zenos murmured, looking amused as he tilted her head to look up to him, and Thea couldn’t stop herself from scoffing.

“You bring those ambitions out in me on purpose, so don’t complain,” Thea huffed. She reached up for his neck to drag him down enough so she could sink her teeth into his lower lip. Zenos’ sharp hiss turned into a moan before he kissed her. His lips moved over hers roughly and demanding, and with barely any pause to breathe. When he pulled back, there still was an amused look on his face.

“That wasn’t a complaint,” he said lowly, “just some tactical advice.” His eyes narrowed as he gave her a curious look. “But tell me, what are some of these ambitions I bring up?”

Thea’s ears twitched and her cheeks flushed at the tone of his voice. Her comment had been about battle, but with how intimately he was holding her now and the low rumble of his voice, her mind went into a decidedly different direction. 

“Ah,” Zenos hummed, a sudden gleam appearing in his eyes. “We are not just talking about fighting anymore…”

“I was,” she protested weakly, “at the start at least.” 

Zenos’ hand went into her hair, brushing the base of her ear before pulling at the strands, sending a shiver through her as he murmured, “You’ve definitely enjoyed yourself so far, but there's more.” His lips were still hovering close to hers and his warm breath was on her face as Thea swallowed heavily. “Tell me! What do you dream about? What do you want?”

Thea swallowed again, heat rising in her at his expectant look. The underlying seriousness in his eyes told her he wasn’t just teasingly asking, he genuinely wanted to know. And given how their very first encounter had gone, he might not even be as opposed to the ideas she had as she had thought.

“I want to be in charge,” she whispered against his lips before softly biting him. His instant moan gave her the courage to say more. “I want to push you down to the ground and have you withering underneath me while I fuck  _ you _ for a change.”

Zenos let out a sharp gasp against her mouth before he slightly drew back, looking at her with expectantly drawn eyebrows. “Now, that is certainly an idea,” he said softly and his hand in her hair tightened. “How would you feel about making a deal?”

Thea blinked, for a moment to thrown off to say anything. Part of her had not really believed he would even consider it. “A deal?” she finally got out in a rough voice. 

“For the next time we meet. A quid pro quo,” Zenos elaborated with a telling smile. “I will let you do whatever you want with me, and you, in turn, will let me do the same at a later time. Does that stir your Interest?”

With her breath stuck in her throat, Thea’s eyes widened.  _ Interest _ would be a massive understatement. But then again, his offer sounded deliberately vague. “Anything?” she asked, carefully, and the small chuckle he made immediately went under her skin.

“Well, I could specify  _ ‘no killing each other’ _ , but that would be rather redundant at this point, wouldn’t it?”

She swallowed again. It was surreal to even think about the implications of the promise behind his suggestion. Althea had seen him lead an invasion, sweeping over battlefields with the force of a hurricane. Steadfast, unshaken, and invincible. Whenever they fought, he was much the same. A bastion of strength that didn’t give her a single ilm in combat. Even when they were clearly training, he rarely ever held back. Only ever just enough to not put a permanent stop to the dance between them. His strength was as overwhelming as it felt absolute and brutal. That he would willingly hand the reins over to her sounded impossible.

And yet, Thea couldn’t help thinking back to the very first time they had crossed that line between wanting to fight each other and wanting to do decidedly other things. To the way he had provoked her, pushed her, only to let her have her way in the end. A way she hadn’t even been aware she had wanted in the first place.

As she was caught by the sheer hunger in his eyes, she swallowed once before she finally nodded. “I agree to those terms,” she said firmly, and the slow smile spreading over his face sent a shiver down her back. Thea would have been hard-pressed to say if it was from anticipation or if it was simple fear. The answer was probably somewhere between that. 

When he kissed her furiously, undoing her clothes without preamble and bordering on roughness, part of her kept asking herself just what in the hells she was doing. As usual, she couldn’t come up with a satisfying answer. There was one thing she knew for certain though - she couldn’t stop. Couldn’t give up this thing between them, no matter how wrong it felt. Because it felt like  _ something  _ at least. When she was with him, everything felt more vivid. Like the world was actually real for once, a place she lived in and was a part of instead of just being a passive onlooker. And all the guilt in the world couldn't manage to stop her from craving this.

Zenos was the enemy, and Althea needed him, desperately. And for that, it turned out, she was willing to risk a lot. Certainly her own peace of mind. As she buried her hands into his hair, dragging him down onto the ground with her, she did her best to push said guilt aside, knowing full well that next time, it would be even harder. They had crossed another line, after all. Going from their painstakingly  _ random _ encounters she could still pretend were coincidental meetings to making actual plans. Together. 

And just as she had suspected, she had been absolutely right. The next time there was nothing there anymore that could be constructed into an accidental meeting. Not when she found a way to slip through the suspiciously sparse patrols guarding his palace, not when she reached the balcony of his rooms with ease and without meeting even a single guard, and certainly not when the doors were already unlocked for her.

Not when Zenos was welcoming her inside, wearing nothing but a single, loose robe, knowing exactly when she would show up because they had made specific plans. Not when she showed him the things she brought with her and he didn’t even question her, when she unpacked a harness and a bunch of ropes. 

Thea wasn’t sure what she had expected. How she had expected this to happen. But it wasn’t anything like the reality. She had not expected the calm but unmistakable excitement he displayed as she ordered him to undress her. Nor had she expected the pleased noises he made as she started to slowly wrap the rope around him. His eagerness to comply when she pushed him down onto the bed.

Thea let her hands run down his chest, following the soft line of the rope she had tied him up in. It stood in dark contrast to his pale skin, being pulled taut whenever Zenos took a deeper breath or tensed underneath her touch. He was a beautiful sight underneath her. Where he was usually all sharp edges, something about this made him feel soft and calm beneath her hands. 

Maybe it was the fact that he was indeed keeping his word by letting her do whatever she wanted with him. He didn’t fight her one single bit, pliantly moving wherever she nudged him, seemingly completely content with having her in charge. It was something new, something indescribable. Their previous encounters had been an endless push and pull, a constant fight for dominance, but this felt decidedly different.

Most of all, it was slow. Unhurried. Althea could have been rough or fast about this, and if she was honest with herself, it was what she had expected to happen when she first brought the idea up. They could have turned it into a battle, like everything else between them, into something wild and frantic. But somehow, neither she nor Zenos seemed to have any inclination to do that.

Once again, she wondered briefly what they were even doing. But when he shuddered under her touch, did it even matter anymore? He was an unstoppable force, but somehow, right here under her touch, he became something else. He became vulnerable. Zenos had broken her before, he had defeated her over and over again, only to build her back up, each time a little bit stronger than before. But suddenly, that cycle held another element. He had broken her down, built her up, and now? Now, he let her lead. 

Gradually, she let her hands wander along his sides, pulling at a piece of rope every now and then, watching mesmerized how his muscles pushed against the constraints. She hadn’t constricted his movement  — his arms and legs were free to move however he wanted  — but rather she had decorated him with the elaborate knot-work she had seen and learned in Kugane. Not for the first time, Thea thought it highly unfair that someone as dangerous, as ruthless, and deplorable as Zenos was looked the way he did. With his soft features, his long, blonde hair fanning around him like a halo on the pillows, he hardly looked like the monster she knew him to be. 

Althea bent over him, letting her lips trace the ropes that were crisscrossed over his chest before pushing up higher. When she kissed him, that too was somehow remarkably soft. Zenos’ lips parted under hers without hesitation, coaxing a soft moan from her as she explored his mouth languidly and without hurry. His arms were around her, fingers softly running through her hair before he put a bit of gentle pressure around the base of her ears, and Thea nearly whimpered into his mouth in a pleased sigh. 

When she drew back to reach for the oil, Zenos seemed almost unwilling to let her go for a moment, his hand reluctantly sliding out of her hair and down her arms. With a generous amount of oil on her, Thea let her fingers tease around his balls for a moment before going lower, drawing a slippery line until they reached the puckered ring of muscle. She was torn between watching what she was doing and keeping her eyes on the ropes and the way they went taut around his chest again as Zenos drew in a gasp.

When she put some more pressure on, she watched him shiver slightly. As Thea let one finger push through the slight resistance and inside him, his reaction was not what she would have expected. She had anticipated tension, maybe some careful resistance, but instead, Zenos let out a sound, unlike anything she had ever heard from him. A soft moan that sounded impossibly gentle and needy at the same time, and a moment later, he reached for her, rising up ever so slightly as he drew her closer and into another kiss. 

She pushed in deeper as her tongue intertwined with his, drinking up the wanton noises he made against her mouth with every move she made. Thea had been aroused by the sheer prospect of what she had planned for the night since way before she had even arrived here, but the sounds he made underneath her and the way he shamelessly moved into her touches stoked the fire in her. Gently, she pushed a second finger inside him, relishing in the way he bucked into her hand almost involuntarily. When she moved her fingers back and forth, scissoring them in between to gradually stretch him, he moaned again, twitching under her touch, silently begging for more.

Thea placed a firm hand onto his hips. “Hold still,” she chided him gently. “Whatever I want, remember? My pace, not yours!”

With a groan, Zenos stilled at her touch, looking at her with eyes filled with desire. “You are the most beautiful creature in existence when you are like this,” he breathed out in a low hum. “In charge, ready to take whatever you want.”

His words went straight between her legs, sending another shiver of anticipation through her. She bit her lip, unsuccessfully trying to stifle a moan. She was determined to take her time, to savor every moment of this, but the way he looked at her and the way he reacted to even her smallest touches made the impatience in her rise.

She held on for another few minutes, gradually working him open, adding more oils and another finger before a blissful sigh of him pushed her past her limit.

“Stay exactly like this!” Thea demanded, before she slowly pulled her fingers back, and reached for the other thing she had brought with her. A simple, leather harness, holding a slightly curved phallus. With a quick look, she could see that Zenos was watching her intensely as she let her hand run over it before she spread her knees apart, running the back end of the toy over her folds. Thea only needed to put on the briefest hint of pressure for the toy to push past them and slip inside of her. Groaning softly at the foreign sensation, she pushed it deeper until it sat snugly where it was supposed to be before she reached for the leather straps and fastened them around her hips and her legs to keep it in place. When she was done, the sheer hunger on his face was almost overwhelming. 

With an excited sigh, Thea reached for the oil again, coating the phallus liberally with it before she shuffled closer between Zenos’ legs. Her hands ran over the insides of his thighs, pushing his legs further apart. She could feel him quiver in anticipation under her touch before she guided the toy into the right position. Thea couldn’t stop watching his face as she started to slowly push in. Zenos’ eyes rolled back slightly as he took in a deep breath. There was a moment of tension before he visibly relaxed, and the moan that left him as she slowly pushed further inside him went straight to her core. She felt herself clench around the toy as the subtle pressure pushed it up just right. Her eyes fluttered shut for a moment as she let out a soft sound of pleasure at the sensation, and when she opened them again, she found her gaze locked with Zenos’, his eyes burning into hers as he bucked his hips once against her.

“More,” he mumbled.

Thea had a strong suspicion that it had been supposed to be a demand, but what came out of his mouth was more akin to a soft plea instead. With a sigh, she slowly pushed further, savoring the almost helpless noises he made until she was fully sheathed inside him.

Zenos’ muscles tensed again, straining against the rope, and when Thea started to move, a deep-seated groan broke free from his mouth, echoing through the room as she gave him a slow, experimental thrust. She felt herself shiver with need at the sensation as she realized that not only the part of the phallus that was inside of her found its mark, but that the angle also let her clit rub deliciously over the extruding shaft. She drew back a bit, repeating the movement. 

The sight of Zenos below her burned itself into her mind. The way his eyes fluttered shut whenever she buried herself all the way to the hilt inside him and the shivers of pleasure running through him, making the rope dig into his skin, looked like a work of art. Biting her lips, she watched the way his hard cock was straining with need, a few drops of moisture collecting on the head, and with her own voice rough with need, she demanded, “Touch yourself. I want to see you!”

There was no hesitation in him as he reached for himself, his hand grasping the base of his cock firmly for a moment. Thea could see in the straining of his muscles that he was fighting hard not to let this be over too quickly. When he started to move his hand with an accompanying loud moan spilling from his lips, she decided to pick up her pace a little. 

Zenos’ eyes rolled nearly all the way back into his head as she wrapped an arm around his thigh and started to push into him in long, slow, but strong thrusts. She could feel him become restless under her, shaking with need as he tried to get her to move faster. Thea bent forward, running her hand up his chest until her fingers firmly wrapped around his throat, and without hesitation, she  _ pushed _ . Her fingers tensed around him, slowly cutting off his air.

“My pace!” Thea repeated her earlier demand with a soft growl. “You’re not in charge here, you don’t decide how this goes.”

Zenos stilled immediately, but the tension running through him seemed to only increase. When she carefully loosened her grip on him again and was about to draw her hand back, a whimper left his mouth.

“Please,” he whispered, his eyes shining with need, and as she looked at him, she felt like she could lose herself in the openness of his gaze. Never before had she seen him like this, holding back nothing at all as he whispered again, “Please, I beg you, do not stop!” And Thea felt the heat run through her entire body at the realization that she would do everything,  _ anything _ he asked of her as long as he did it looking like this.

Her hand closed around his throat once more, and she drew her hips back slowly, keeping up her drawn-out pace. She felt him swallow against her palm, watched in reverence how he started to struggle for breath as she continued to fuck him in slow and deep thrusts. Every few strokes, she let up ever so slightly, enabling him to draw in a deep and increasingly desperate-sounding breath before she cut off his air again. 

Thea could see him try to slow down, to almost completely stop stroking himself in an effort to hold on longer, and with a click of her tongue, she thrust into him deeply

“I meant what I said earlier,” she said softly, but with a firmness behind her voice that left no room to argue. “I want to see you, so no slowing down!” She picked up her pace ever so slightly, encouraging him to do the same. “Show me what I want to see,” she added with a low groan. “I want to watch you come like this.”

With a moan that sent another spike of lust through her, Zenos did exactly as she asked. His hand tightened around his cock, stroking himself faster as he kept gasping for air. When his whole body started to tense up, Thea pressed down harder, watching mesmerized how there was nothing but bliss on his face as he struggled slightly against her hold before he went taut under her grip and came with a deep, choked-off groan. His cock twitched in his hand, sending hot, white spurts over his chest, decorating his skin and the dark ropes alike. 

When she let him breathe again, Zenos drew in a sharp gulp of air, his eyes still unfocused as he slowly came back into himself. Thea marveled at the sight of him, looking so incredibly content and peaceful it seemed almost unreal. She had seen more in him than she was supposed to from the moment they had started this whole thing between them, but still, she would have never expected him to let her see this side of him. And not just that, but to also look so completely at ease with it. Something about this moment felt so utterly genuine, it nearly threatened to close up her own throat with the realization that she wasn’t sure if she could ever be this open, this vulnerable, and this honest about enjoying what they did together. 

Quickly, she pushed the thought aside, focusing on the small shivers of need still surging through her. As she carefully pulled back and let the phallus slip out of him, the harnessed part teased over her clit again, renewing her own desire, and she let out a small moan. The look Zenos sent her did the rest to fuel the fire in her back to full force.

“Was this all you wanted?” he asked, his voice still rough and slightly shaky as he looked at her with something of a dare behind his eyes. “Or were there other things you require of me?”

Thea didn’t hesitate. With quick and precise movements, she undid the straps around her thighs and her hip, opening the harness from all sides until she could take it off. A moment later, she was moving up along his body, the ropes around his chest scratching over the soft skin of her inner thighs as she got in position and finally settled on her knees, thighs on each side of his head.

“I definitely require more of you,” she murmured, her breath already coming out in shorter bursts from the anticipation as she watched him lick his lips. Zenos’ hands ran along her legs, coming around her hips, and as he pulled her closer, Thea didn’t care about setting her own pace anymore. 

“Anything you want, that was the deal,” he whispered before his hands on her hips tightened and he pulled her down onto his mouth. His tongue slipped through her folds, and with a growl, he sealed his lips around her, sucking and licking like he was starving as his hands encouraged her to buck into his mouth. And as his efforts reduced her breathless moans to needy whimpers, Thea managed to forget all the reasons why she shouldn’t be there once more. The guilt that would come back the next morning was nothing, after all, compared to the way he made her feel.

**Author's Note:**

> [Come talk to me over on tumblr ^^](https://kunstpause.tumblr.com)


End file.
